Alpha Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 A question for anyone in possession of what seems to be a fantastic little device. What are the avaliable freeware options at the moment and do they cover all your needs? Also does this device work with software like SweetLight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pero Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hi, You have links on Open DMX web page. Pero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Open DMX will not work with Sweetlight as it only works with it's own DMX interfaces. Freestyler will work with Open DMX as will lots of paid for software. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hi, You have links on Open DMX web page. Pero I already knew that, I was after recomendation. Thanks smalljshua. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mi-ul Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 As a bit of an aside - does the enttec pro do DMX through? - e.g. to allow it to sit between the desk and the dimmers to avoid having to repatch between different types of shows? Mi-ul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhuson Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 As a bit of an aside - does the enttec pro do DMX through? - e.g. to allow it to sit between the desk and the dimmers to avoid having to repatch between different types of shows? I'm not quite sure why you would want a USB -> DMX interface sat in your DMX line between your desk and dimmers, can you enlighten us? I'm fairly sure the two connectors are linked together so you could put it in a DMX chain and it will pass a signal through but I can't really see why you would want to. The reason the Pro version has both male and female 5-pin XLR's is that the interface is capable of being a DMX input as well as an output (but can only be one of those at a time). Having both male and female XLRs means you don't have to worry about using a gender changing adapter when changing roles. As for recommended software for the Open version, Chamsys Magic Q is compatible with both the Open and the Pro and bar a very few limitations is fully functioning and very powerful software. If you're considering using this interface regularly for shows then I would strongly recommend spending a little more and getting the Pro version. The fundamental difference between the two is that the Pro version has it's own processor to generate the DMX signal where as the Open version relies on your computers processor to do this so can be effected by the general overheads that your average PC processor has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niax Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 I think what the OP is after is using the DMX Pro to receive a DMX stream and interchange the values of some channels with other channels. It is not capable of doing this, as it can only receive OR transmit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhuson Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Fair point but all it would be doing would be soft patching, as most desks have this facility these days I still don't see the gain. Either was as you say it's not possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HobitLight Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 This is free and pretty good. In particular Stage Console. I haven't actually used it live but it's a good little theatre control device to have as a backup. EDIT: Just for a bit more info, it also has full 512 channel soft patching, submasters, a cue stack, virtual faders or a command line input method and you can have manual preset too and can set the board to have as many channels as you want. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 It's not free, but have you considered LightFactory - it really is the most powerful PC control desk available, designed for theatres. The demo version is fully functional for 12 hours so you can output DMX and test the software, then buy it once you're sure its right for you. If you need any help or support getting started - give me a shout. Kind Regards, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msearancke Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 The other reason the USB pro has both male and female connectors is that when you are using it for DMX in (say for a visualiser or media server) you want it be pass through like any other fixture in the chain. I use to think it was excessive just for avoiding a gender changer but it makes more sense now that a few media servers support the product. You could actually use the USB pro as a DMX backup option inline with your DMX. You could have some software that puts the box into input mode and has a switch/button to turn it to output mode if your main desk fails (that's assuming the failure takes out the DMX on the main desk - there is no such thing as a nice failure). Plug: LightFactory can actually do this with the USB pro. If you run the software in tracking backup mode then it will not initialize the USB device until a failure is detected or someone pushes the "takeover" button on the secondary system. Therefore you can sit the second USB pro inline with the DMX chain connected to the secondary/backup PC. Also on power-up the USB pro defaults to DMX input. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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